Method and Device for Producing Packing Units from at Least Two Packs

ABSTRACT

A method and device to form packing units ( 12 ) consisting of at least two packs ( 10, 11 ). To this end, the successively conveyed packs ( 10, 11 ) are tilted by 90° in the region of a turning line ( 20 ) in such a way that the associated packs ( 10, 11 ) are oriented towards each other in the correct relative position for the packing unit ( 12 ). Every second pack ( 11 ) is delayed during the turning process so that it can be oriented towards the associated pack ( 10 ).

STATEMENT OF RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Chapter II National Phase of, and claims priority on, PCT International Patent Application No. PCT/EP2005/007027 having an International Filing Date of 30 Jun. 2005, which claims priority on German Patent Application No. 10 2004 036 162.2 having a filing date of 26 Jul. 2004, both of which are incorporated herein by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The invention relates to a method for producing packing units from at least two packs whose design, in particular their geometric form, allows them to be fitted together to form the packing unit, preferably in the form of a trapezoidal pack element and subsequent single-sided tab, with the oriented packs being delivered in close sequence by a feed conveyor. Furthermore, the invention relates to a device for performing the method.

2. Related Art

For objects, in particular packs, with matching forms it is the object after completion of the objects or packs to assemble two or more objects or packs, allowing for their special form, to produce a (packing) unit. One example of this are packs for modern razor blades (triple blades) that consist of a pack element with a trapezoidal cross-section and a laterally attached tab. Two packs are assembled in an interlocking relative position to thus form a packing unit.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to change the relative position of the objects or packs arriving with a matching relative position in such a way that at least two associated packs can be assembled in an interlocking formation to form the packing unit.

In order to achieve this object, the method according to the invention comprises the following features:

a) During the continued transport, the packs are turned in such a way that (two) adjacent packs in each case have a relative position corresponding to the packing unit,

b) Every second pack is decelerated or accelerated in its transport speed in such a way that packs assigned to a packing unit are oriented to one another,

c) The associated (two) packs of a packing unit are pushed (laterally) and assembled to form a packing unit,

d) The packing units formed continuously in this way are transported away at a distance from one another.

In the method according to the invention, the preferably upright packs are brought closely together. All the packs are turned during the continuous transport and oriented by decelerating or accelerating into a relative position necessary for the packing unit. The two packs are assembled to form the packing unit by a lateral movement.

A special feature of the invention consists in that every second pack is diverted laterally out of the plane or travel route of the arriving packs and transported along a second transport route. In the area of this second transport route, the packs are turned. In a preferred embodiment the packs transported further in continuation of the feed conveyor and the packs of the parallel transport route are each turned by 90° in opposite directions, thereby forming the relative position corresponding to the packing unit.

The device according to the invention has in addition to the continued feed conveyor a second, offset conveyor, namely a turning conveyor for every second pack. The packs are thereby turned by means of fixed, correspondingly formed guide organs, in particular by curve-shaped guide rails.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further special features of the invention are explained in greater detail below by reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a (single) pack in a perspective view,

FIG. 2 shows a bulk pack comprising several packing units, also in a perspective view,

FIG. 3 shows a device for forming packing units in a diagrammatic side view,

FIG. 4 shows the device according to FIG. 3 in a diagrammatic outline view,

FIG. 5 shows a phase in the turning movement of packs corresponding to cross-section V-V in FIG. 4,

FIG. 6 shows a view of the situation in the section VI-VI of FIG. 4,

FIG. 7 shows a cross-section in the plane VII-VII in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the drawings a pack 10, 11 is shown as an illustrative embodiment that due to its geometric shape is suitable for forming a compact packing unit 12 by means of an interlocking relative position of two packs 10, 11. The packs 10, 11 serve here, for example, to hold triple razor blades. The constructional form is dictated by a pack element 13 and a tab 14 protruding from this element. The pack element 13 has a trapezoidal cross-section with front wall 15, rear wall 16, an inclined side wall 17 and a narrow base wall 39. The relatively rigid protruding tab 14 extends in the extension of the rear wall 16. The dimension of the tab 14 in this direction is slightly smaller than the width or height of the front wall 15.

The packing unit 12 consists of two interlocking packs 10, 11 lying against one another. The inclined side walls 17 of the packs 10, 11 lie against one another.

The tab 14 of the one pack 10, 11 lies against the front wall 15 of the other pack 11, 10 (FIG. 2).

The packing unit 12 forms an exact cubic block that allows the formation of a stack. A bulk pack (FIG. 2) of several packing units 12 lying on top of one another is suitable for shipment and/or presentation.

The packs 10, 11 are delivered by a packing machine or a pack stock in a relative position oriented in the same direction. In order to form the packing units 12, the relative position of the associated packs 10, 11 has to be changed. This is performed during the preferably continuous transport of the packs 10, 11.

In the device illustrated, the packs 10, 11 are delivered by a feed conveyor 19 to form a closely arranged row 18. This has the form of an endless belt. The packs 10, 11 stand in an upright plane with the tab 14 facing upwards, with the base wall 39 resting on the feed conveyor 19.

Downline of the feed conveyor 19, the packs 10, 11 are transferred to a turning line 20. In this area, the relative position of each pair of associated packs 10, 11 is changed in such a way that these are finally oriented in the horizontal plane, corresponding to the formation inside the packing unit 12. This means that in each case one pack 10 is oriented with the rear wall 16 and tab 14 facing downwards and the other pack 11 with the rear wall 16 and tab 14 facing upwards. The inclined side walls 17 are facing one another.

In order to perform the necessary turning movements of the packs 10, 11, these are temporarily transported on different transport routes lying alongside one another. The device is designed for this purpose in such a way that it consists of two turning conveyors 21 and 22. Both are endless conveyors, namely belts. The two turning conveyors 21, 22 lie immediately alongside one another and parallel to one another and can be driven independently of one another.

The first turning conveyor 21 extends in continuation of the feed conveyor 19, and can possibly be formed by this with a corresponding extension. The packs 10 are thus transported further in continuation of the direction of movement of the feed conveyor 19 on the turning conveyor 21.

Every second pack 11 is diverted or discharged out of the closely arranged row 18 in transverse direction and inserted into the transport route of the second turning conveyor 22. For this purpose, a discharge element is arranged in the inlet area of the turning line 20, namely a revolving segmented wheel 23 rotating in the horizontal plane with a perpendicular shaft 24. The disc-shaped segmented wheel 23 has several, in the present case two, projections or segments 25, 26. These each come into contact with one side surface of the packs 11 to be discharged, namely here on the front wall 15. For this purpose, the segments 25, 26 enter the travel path of the feed conveyor 19. The rotational movement of the segmented wheel 23 is synchronized to the transport speed of the feed conveyor 19 in such a way that one segment 25, 26 contacts one pack 11 to be diverted in each case. As shown in FIG. 4, the pack 11 in question is moved into an inclined position by the segment 25, 26 and thus enters the area of a fixed deflector 27 that with the continued transport by the feed conveyor 19 and subsequently by the turning conveyor 22 diverts the pack 11 into the area of this turning conveyor 22.

The packs 10, 11 are guided in the area of the feed conveyor 19 and in particular in the area of the turning line 20 by special fixed guide elements that are formed in such a way that during the continued conveying movement a tilting or turning of the packs 10, 11 takes place. In the present illustrative embodiment the process is such that both packs 10, 11 are tilted or turned during transport to form the packing unit 12. Furthermore, the packs 10, 11 are transported at different speeds in the area of the turning line 20, namely in the present case the packs 11 of the turning conveyor 22 are transported at reduced speed in such a way that the associated adjacent packs 10, 11 are oriented to one another at the end of the turning line 20, namely at the transfer point to a discharge conveyor 28.

The guide elements for the packs 10, 11 are designed here as guide rods or guide rails. In the area of the feed conveyor 19 there are two guide rails, namely upper rail 29 and lower rail 30 or 31, 32 on both sides of the packs 10, 11. The rails facing the rear side 31, 32 lie in a common vertical plane, while on the front side the upper rail 29 is offset from the lower rail 30 due to the contact with the tab 14. The guide rails on the front side, namely upper rail 29 and lower rail 30, are arranged in the further course of the turning conveyors 21 in continuation or extension of the feed conveyor 19. In the area of the turning conveyor 21, the lower rail 30 remains a lower lateral limitation for the packs 10, namely at a height above the turning conveyor 21 corresponding to that of the base wall 39 of the pack 10, so that the packs 10 are guided in a horizontal position through the lower rail 30. The lower rail 30 also continues in the area of the subsequent discharge conveyor 28.

The front-side upper rail 29 has a curved shape in the area of the turning conveyor 21 (FIG. 4) such that a tilting movement is exerted on the packs 10 during the transport. In side view, the upper rail 29 is tilted slightly downwards for this purpose so that guidance is assured during the whole tilting movement of the packs 10 out of the upright position into a horizontal position. In the area of the turning conveyor 21, a further guide is located on the side facing towards the turning conveyor 22, namely a supplementary rail 33. This extends essentially in the conveying direction of the packs 10 and serves as a lower support during the tilting movement (FIG. 5, FIG. 6). The supplementary rail 33 thus runs essentially from top to bottom. The packs 10 or their tabs 14 are consequently secured between two guide elements during the tilting movement.

Guide elements of the turning conveyor 22 are designed in a special manner. Upper rail 31 and lower rail 32 from the area of the feed conveyor 19 are deflected outwards at the beginning of the turning line 20 into the area of the turning conveyor 22. They initially still serve as lateral guides for the discharged packs 11. The lower guide, namely lower rail 32, extends at a slight distance above the turning conveyor 22 and acts as an outer guide for the packs 11 in the whole turning area, namely at the height of the base wall 39. The upper rail 31 lies against the rear side of the tab 14 and causes the tilting movement of the packs 11 by having a correspondingly curved course (FIG. 4), and in addition oriented from top to bottom. An opposite guide is also provided for the packs 11 or their tabs 14 during the turning movement, namely an additional rail 34. This lies against the front side of the tab 14. The additional rail 34 also has a downward-oriented course corresponding to the tilting movement. The guide elements for the packs 10, 11 correspond insofar as the thin-walled tabs 14 facing upwards are guided on both sides during the whole tilting and turning process.

The pack elements 13 of the packs 10, 11 are also supported on the inside, namely by supporting rails 35, 36. These extend continuously in the lower area of the packs 10, 11, namely at the height of the lower rails 30, 32. The supporting rails 35, 36 are arranged as a continuation of the fork-shaped or wedge-shaped deflector 27. These supporting rails 35, 36 also follow the course of the tilting movements.

The inner supporting and guide elements for the packs 10, 11 terminate in the area of the turning line 20 after completion of the tilting movements, so that in the end phase the packs 10, 11 lie alongside one another with partially overlapping tabs 14. The form of the lower rails 30, 32 brings the associated packs 10, 11 together by pushing laterally, with the lower rails 30, 32 lying against the base walls 39. Due to the funnel-shaped arrangement of these guide elements, packing units 12 arrive with exactly oriented packs 10, 11 in the area of the discharge conveyor 28. This extends roughly in the middle of the two turning conveyors 21, 22 here with their different widths.

The discharge conveyor 28 ensures precise transport of the packing units 12. For this purpose, an upper belt 37 is provided at least in the starting area. This has (two) stops 38. The speeds are synchronized in such a way that the incoming packing units 12 run up against one of the stops 38 and are thus aligned at the front side. The upper belt 37 with stop 38 travels part of the conveying distance with the packing unit 12, thereby stabilizing the position of the packs 10, 11. The packing units 12 are then transported to a packer to form a bulk pack such as that shown in FIG. 2.

The conveying speeds are synchronized with one another in a special manner. The feed conveyor 19 preferably runs at the same conveying speed as the subsequent turning conveyor 21. The turning conveyor 22 is driven at a lower speed. The discharge conveyor 28 has a further reduced conveying speed compared with the turning conveyor 22. The upper belt 37 is driven at the same speed as the discharge conveyor 28. The lower conveying speed of the discharge conveyor 28 ensures that the two packs 10, 11 lying on top of one another run up against the stop 38 of the discharge conveyor 28 and are thus aligned by this stop.

The device can also be employed analogously if the packs 10, 11 are delivered lying in the horizontal plane. In this case only every second pack has to be turned.

List of Reference Numbers

-   10 Pack -   11 Pack -   12 Packing unit -   13 Pack element -   14 Tab -   15 Front wall -   16 Rear wall -   17 Side wall -   18 Closely arranged row -   19 Feed conveyor -   20 Turning line -   21 Turning conveyor -   22 Turning conveyor -   23 Segmented wheel -   24 Shaft -   25 Segment -   26 Segment -   27 Deflector -   28 Discharge conveyor -   29 Upper rail -   30 Lower rail -   31 Upper rail -   32 Lower rail -   33 Supplementary rail -   34 Additional rail -   35 Supporting rail -   36 Supporting rail -   37 Upper belt -   38 Stop -   39 Base wall 

1. A method for producing packing units (12) from at least two packs (10, 11) whose design allows them to be fitted together to form the packing unit (12) in the form of a trapezoidal pack element (13) and subsequent single-sided tab (14), with the aligned packs (10, 11) being delivered in close sequence by a feed conveyor (19), comprising the steps of: a) Turning at least every second pack (10, 11) is turned during the continued transport in such a way that adjacent packs (10, 11) in each case have a relative position corresponding to the packing unit (12), b) Decelerating or accelerating every second pack (10, 11) in its transport speed in such a way that packs (10, 11) assigned to the packing unit (12) are oriented to one another, c) Pushing laterally the associated packs (10, 11) of a packing unit (12) and assembling the associated packs (10, 11) to form the packing unit (12), d) Transporting away the packing units (12) formed continuously in this.
 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the (flat) packs (10, 11) are transported in an upright position through the feed conveyor (19) and that both packs (10, 11) are each turned by 90° in opposite directions in the area of a subsequent turning line (20).
 3. The method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that every second pack (11) of an incoming continuous series of packs is diverted laterally, transported in the area of the turning line (20) along a separate conveying route and thereby turned, with the diverted packs (11) traveling along the separate conveying route being decelerated in their transport speed in such a way that packs (10, 11) assigned to a packing unit (12) are aligned on top of one another.
 4. The method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the packs (10, 11) comprising pack element (13) and tab (14) are turned in the area of the turning line (20) in such a way that the tabs (14) of the packs (10, 11) assigned to the same packing unit (12) are facing one another.
 5. A device for producing packing units (12) from at least two packs (10, 11) whose design allows them to be fitted together to form the packing unit (12) in the form of a trapezoidal pack element (13) and subsequent single-sided tab (14), the packs (10, 11) being transported consecutively in aligned position by means of a feed conveyor (19), comprising: a) In the area of a turning line (20) there are at least two conveyors, namely a first and a second turning conveyor (21, 22), arranged alongside one another, whereby the arriving packs (10, 11) can be fed alternately onto the first and the second turning conveyor (21, 22), b) In the area of the turning line (20) at least the one lot of packs (10, 11) can be turned in the area of the first turning conveyor (21, 22) by turning elements acting on the packs (10, 11) during transport in such a way that pairs of packs (10, 11) assigned to a packing unit (12) exhibit a relative position corresponding to the packing unit (12), whereby the associated packs (10, 11) for forming a packing unit (12) can be assembled during transport by a transverse movement.
 6. The device as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the first turning conveyor (21) runs in continuation of the feed conveyor (19) and that the second turning conveyor (22) is arranged offset from and in particular parallel to the first turning conveyor (21), it being the case that every second arriving pack (11) can be pushed laterally by a discharge element into the area of the second offset turning conveyor (22).
 7. The device as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the discharge element is a segmented wheel (23) rotating in particular in the horizontal plane with projections or segments (25, 26), it being the case that, during the rotational movement of the segmented wheel (23) the segments (25, 26) contact the sides of the respective second pack (11) to be discharged and move it into the area of the second turning conveyor (22).
 8. The device as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the second turning conveyor (22) for the discharged packs (11) is driven at a lower conveying speed than the first turning conveyor (21) in such a way that the packs (11) transported by the second turning conveyor (22) are aligned with the packs (10) of the first turning conveyor (21) during the turning movement to form pairs of packs (10, 11) lying alongside one another.
 9. The device as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that stationary guide elements are assigned to both turning conveyors (21, 22) by means of which the packs (10, 11) of both turning conveyors (21, 22) can be tilted by approximately 90° during transport in opposite tilting directions.
 10. The device as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the packs (10, 11) are supported in the area of the feed conveyor (19) by guide elements upper rail (29, 31) and lower rail (30, 32) acting on both sides, with guide rails (29 to 32) extending into the area of the turning line (20) to guide and execute the tilting movement of the packs (10, 11) in the area of the turning line (20).
 11. The device as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that the lower rails (30, 32) are arranged as outer guide elements in the area of the two turning conveyors (21, 22) according to the travel path of the packs (10, 11) and in a lower area according to the width or height of a base wall (39) of the packs (10, 11), it being the case that, in the end section of the turning line (20) the lower rails (30, 32) effect a transverse-oriented pushing together of the packs (10, 11) to form the packing unit (12) and for alignment onto a discharge conveyor (28).
 12. The device as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that the upper rails (29, 31) in an upper area rest against the packs (10, 11) in the area of the turning line (20) with the tilting movement of the packs (10, 11) being effected by the arc-shaped and downward-oriented course of the upper rails (29, 31).
 13. The device as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the packs (10, 11) in one upper area are supported during the tilting movement by guide elements in contact on both sides, which are the outer upper rails (29, 31) and the inner guide rails, which are supplementary rail (33) and additional rail (34).
 14. The device as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the packs (10, 11) are guided on both sides in the lower area during the tilting movement, on the outside by the lower rails (30, 32) and on the inside by supporting rails (35, 36).
 15. The device as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the packing units (12) can be aligned by the discharge conveyor (28) downstream of the turning conveyors (21, 22), by an upper belt (37) with stops (38) resting on the upper side of the packing units (12) for a side of the packing units (12) lying forwards in the transport direction.
 16. The device as claimed in claim 15, characterized in that the discharge conveyor (28) runs at a reduced conveying speed compared with the turning conveyors (21, 22).
 17. The method as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that every second pack (11) of an incoming continuous series of packs is diverted laterally, transported in the area of the turning line (20) along a separate conveying route and thereby turned, with the diverted packs (11) traveling along the separate conveying route being decelerated in their transport speed in such a way that packs (10, 11) assigned to a packing unit (12) are aligned on top of one another. 